With an influx of missionaries heading out, this returned missionary blogger decides to impart some of her lessons learned. Plus, how did bloggers commemorate Joseph Smith's birthday? And writing your goals on placemats? Brilliant!

Placemat goals: Turning now from Christmas, and looking forward to the New Year. This blogger provides a brilliant idea to help you with your goal making: Placemat Goals. She explains how they work: “I think our best year for keeping our goals was the year we put them on a placemat. Every meal they were right in front of our eyes ... It was a great reminder! Add a photo to each placemat and then laminate the whole thing. I used a Sharpie to write our goals. The placemats can still be wiped off without removing the marker.” Click in to find PDFs of these placements to print and use yourself. Awesome!

Mission advice: “Sarah was sitting across the table from me at the YSA Christmas party and she approached me with an honest question that I know a lot of Young Women and female Young Single Adults are asking right now: ‘What advice would you give to someone who is preparing to serve a mission?’” This blogger, who just returned from a mission, provides some insightful advice On Mission Preparation. Among her recommendations, “Sit down and make a personal inventory of your weaknesses and your strengths. Then make plans on how you will turn your weaknesses into strengths, and how your strengths will help you be an effective missionary.” Wow. Click in to read more.

Joseph Smith: It was Joseph Smith’s 208th birthday on Sunday and this blogger commemorated it with her own testimony of the Prophet of the Restoration: “Joseph Smith is probably my greatest hero. I have had for most of my life a deep desire to know him better. To understand his life. To learn his teachings. To find out for myself that he is a true prophet of God. I am so thankful for the knowledge I have of him and everything that he did. I learn more about him each day and I love it! I am so thankful for this man who gave so much of himself so that all of us today could have the Book of Mormon. To have the restored true church of Jesus Christ. To have the divine power of the holy priesthood. To have temple marriages that are forever. To have the Word of Wisdom. I could go on and on. I hope you will take some time today, or anytime, to learn more about this man. I testify to you that he is a prophet of God. I am so thankful for him and for his countless acts of kindness and example.”

Emily W. Jensen updates "Today in the Bloggernacle" on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, presenting the best from the world of LDS-oriented blog sites. Her extended "Bloggernacle Back Bench" appears on Tuesdays. Email: ejensen@desnews.com

Emily Warburton Jensen has been covering the Bloggernacle for Mormon Times and the Deseret News for four years and counting. She loves searching through the LDS blog world for developments and testimonies that best capture more ..